The big WandaVision villain theory has everything to do with hexagons

Another week, another wild theory about what’s really going on in the idyllic but ominous sitcom life of WandaVision. Some have turned out to be red herrings, while others have been right on the money for the Disney Plus original, which is now three weeks in.

But after the revelations in episode 4, “We Interrupt This Program,” there’s one thing viewers are turning their eyes to: hexagons.

Yes, hexagons. And if the comic book viewers reading between the lines are right, the shapes could be a signal of a new villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

[Ed. note: This piece contains spoilers for WandaVision through episode 4.]

Hexagons, explained

Image: Marvel Studios

Hexagons are a shape with six sides and six corners. When all the sides are of equal length, each corner forms a 120-degree angle. Hexagons have one other pretty interesting quality, which is that they tessellate — hexagons with sides of equal length can lay next to each other like tiles without any gaps between them. And of the equal-sided shapes that tessellate, hexagons have the most surface area for their size.

And that’s why you’ll find them occurring in interesting places in nature! They’re the perfect naturally occurring shape for beehives to store stacks of honey and eggs in without any wasted space.

That’s everything I know about hexagons. There are also some recurring hexagons in WandaVision.

Image: Marvel Studios

And we know that they’re significant in some way, because the characters outside of Westview (or should we say WestView) have started to notice them. Hexagonal shapes ring images of Wanda and Vision in the “credits” of each “episode” of the television show that is beaming out of Westview. And it even looks like the energy field surrounding the town is also in a hexagonal shape.

What does this all mean? There are theories based in comics lore, as is the way.

Maybe the simplest explanation could be that if all of Westview is a product of Wanda’s abilities, the hexagons are a quite literal visual interpretation of the Scarlet Witch’s often ill-defined “hex” power.

Or, while we now know the beekeeper sighted in episode 2 wasn’t an AIM flunky after all, the hexagons could be another bee-related motif that might eventually point to the evil science organization.

There’s an even wilder theory floating around out there, based on the fact that hexagons have six sides. You know, like 666. This one goes all the way to the top! If by the top, we mean the absolute bottom. And we do.

*giant bong hit* What if Mephisto?

Image: Marvel Studios

Mephisto is essentially the devil of the Marvel Comics universe, and as such it’s actually easier to mention superheroes who haven’t had a run in with him than not. He was in the original Infinity Gauntlet story that Avengers: Infinity War was based on. He’s a recurring villain for Doctor Strange. He featured largely in one of the most controversial Spider-Man stories of the last 20 years. In the comics, Wanda’s twin boys were accidentally made out of fragments of his soul.

And there have been some hints that Mephisto will appear in Loki (see the still frame above), due to hit Disney Plus in May.

That’s enough of a potential connection for fans to sink their teeth into this theory. Why would Mephisto be messing with the Scarlet Witch in a post-Thanos universe? Well, why not? He’s the literal devil, he wants souls, he wants to manipulate good people into doing bad things, he wants to decrease happiness in the world and he has the devilish powers to warp reality itself. He once resurrected Aunt May for Spider-Man in exchange for making it so that Spider-Man’s happy marriage never happened.

He’s like Loki, but no fun.

According to Big Tease Kevin Feige, the next time we see Wanda will be in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which may indicate that WandaVision has plans to introduce more magic into its story. And if the Marvel Cinematic Universe was looking for a new villain even worse than Thanos, it’s hard to go wrong with the literal Devil. In the comics, he’s got his own ties to the Infinity Gauntlet, and while Marvel didn’t make a carbon copy of the comics to the films, the studio does like to echo comic book story arcs.